Warm Enough to Water

It has been mild, in the 50s, and this afternoon was 55 degrees, with a strong winter sun. 

All the way up to Christmas it is forecast to be like that, 50ish temperatures and above freezing at night, with only two nights briefly at 33 degrees, all the other nights above that.

But it's been very dry and there is no rain or snow forecast. 

So I watered today. 

I got everything, even the oaks in the field. I actually hooked up the hose and gave all the gardens a good drink.

I brought the overwintering cuphea outside too, and took out the pinecone mulch and added fresh potting soil to the top around the plant. 

It has been regrowing nicely since I hacked it back and brought it in for the winter. I even see a couple little flower buds. I do need to remember to fertilize it, and to let it dry out between waterings.

The forecast is so forgiving, I even brought the pots of salvias and tickseed and obedient plants etc. out from the garage and I'll leave them outside while the next ten days stay mild and the nights above freezing.

They're tender perennials and can stay out but not if it gets really cold.

First Snow

It's gotten cold recently and last night we got our first snowfall.
 

It's not much on the ground, but it's messy and I have a flight out to California later today. 

It should be fine. The roads are mostly just wet, although the temperature is well below freezing, so ice could be an issue.

It does look a bit Christmassy this morning.

🎄   🎄   🎄   🎄   🎄   🎄    🎄   🎄

Leaf Litter and Mulch

A cold rain all day today, about half an inch. Yesterday was nice -- 52° but pleasant to work in. I spread leaf litter and a little bit of mulch.

Before Jim's back got really bad a few weeks ago, he vacuumed up some leaves and in the process the machine chops them into pieces. He filled a whole contractor bag with shredded leaves.

Later the bulk of the fallen leaves were cleaned up and taken away by Jeronimo's men -- the cottonwood and aspen leaves don't disintegrate and form huge mats all over and need to be removed.

So the gardens were cleared up, it had rained the other day so soil was moist, and I had a contractor bag full of chopped leaf litter to spread around.

I dumped it into the trug, added water and then kneaded and mixed it to get it all wet. I did several trugs -- a lot, actually -- there was a ton of leaf litter to work with. Then, after spreading it around the gardens, I used one bag of wood chip mulch to put down to hold the leaf litter from blowing away. 

It is fine and dry and I didn't want it to disappear in the wind.

The steady damp and rain today has tamped it down pretty well, and the soil from the rain we had before was moist underneath. Hopefully the leaf litter will add nutrients and tilth, the bit of mulch will hold it, and the gardens will be happy next spring.

November Rain

I woke to a cold fog this morning after a full day yesterday of off and on rain. We got almost half an inch total. 

The fog burned off pretty quickly to light up our wet world. But the patio cushions are soaked through -- I hadn't brought them in.

Jeronimo had just cleaned up the leaves the day before so the ground could soak in this rain. He charged $412 -- yikes.

Tomorrow, when the forecast is for milder weather, I'll spread some mulch to cover a few areas where bare dirt and some of the irrigation tubing is exposed. 

Corroded Fittings

I brought the hoses in today, disconnected the splitters from the faucet bibs and stored them in the garage. Cold temps are finally coming, with some rain and possibly snow.

The fittings on the hoses always corrode and are nearly impossible to get off. The one by the kitchen door came off, but I could not separate the one in front. 

Jim and I worked on it, used WD40 oil, got the hairdryer out to heat the metal threads and used the biggest wrench.

It came off after much difficulty, but destroyed the leader hose fitting in the process. 

So I ordered a new leader -- fortunately I had an Amazon record of what I got last time (in April 2024) and ordered exactly the same size, the same item. 

It worked well for my rigged extension system from the front faucet around to the back. It lasted just two years, but the replacement is only $17 and I can rescue the system next spring after our debacle getting the old one off.

I always need new Y splitters every year, they don't last long. I got these heavy duty brass ones ($18 each) with longer shut off levers -- the plastic ones I've been using are not as sturdy. 

Speedwells in Fall

I don't remember the Royal Candles veronicas turning any kind of color in fall. This year they are an attractive golden yellow. I cut the long spent stalks back and cleaned up a bit and there were these pretty little mounds of clean, colorful foliage.

It must be the long warm fall weather, with only a few mornings that have hit below 32°. A strange season this year.

The little golden clumps look quite nice.

Should I plant more Royal Candles speedwells, perhaps in the circle garden? I might.

They bloom vividly in June, with that upright spikiness I need around the circle garden, although once they fade the spikes get lanky and need cutting back.

They have been workhorses in the kitchen courtyard garden, and are surprisingly nice even now in fall.

Little Red Jewels

The crabapple's leaves are all down now and the red crabs look like jewels all over the little tree. 

I'm still amazed that there are so many crabapples. Spring flowering was sparse, yet there are tons of fruits.

Very festive and holiday appropriate as Thanksgiving approaches. If we get snow for Christmas it will be perfect.

The fruits are tiny and intact, not yet falling or turning mushy. 

It seems they dry out and get dark and smaller as they age, so I'm hoping there won't be any kind of mess on the ground. 

When they fall I'll have to see what that does to the walkway and gravel below.

Or maybe late in the season when freezing has made them more palatable, the birds will eat some?

Lit Up Perfectly

The way a shaft of morning sun comes through the glass doors of the two way fireplace and lights up the plant on the living room table always amazes me.

Somehow it finds the plant and only the plant. Nothing else in the room is illuminated, just the green leaves all lit up and shining. 

On these November mornings it happens just as I am having coffee in the red recliner, around 7:15 a.m. The timing, the light, the specific way just that one thing shines, is just striking.

It's a plastic Swedish ivy that I've had for decades. I packed it and moved it here. It fits perfectly into the white resin cylinder container that Hope made us a few years ago. 

And it sits perfectly on the glass table in a ray of morning sun that lights it up like it's alive. Wow.

Then, when the pot of ivy is no longer lit, the sun finds the lemon tree and lights that up.

Pretty spectacular.